Brad Pitt at the NCAA tournament...

Found this article funny.

JPod...

There's an interview with Douglas Coupland, one of my favorite authors, here. He talks a little about his new book, JPod, which comes out this summer.

Scientifically testing prayer...

Apparently, you can scientifically test the effectiveness of prayer. The Washington Post reports: "The study of more than 1,800 heart-bypass patients found that those who had people praying for them had as many complications as those who did not. In fact, one group of patients who knew they were the subject of prayers fared worse."

Obviously, this is a small study and there are several problems with it. What's fascinating, though, is the fact that the study was even done in the first place. First of all, let me say that I have nothing against scientific research. In fact, I think it's necessary and very important. I just find it odd that we continually turn to science to try to prove or disprove religious ideas and beliefs. Doesn't that miss the point altogether?

Finally (and most importantly in my opinion), don't we have better things to spend scientific research money on?

not sure how I feel about this...

Russell Stover is currently selling chocolate crosses for Easter. Apparently, they're not new, but are getting press this year because they are being more widely marketed. Perhaps the same crowd who flocked to see Mel Gibson's movie will also flock to Walmart to buy a chocolate replica of the cross used in the movie.

My cynicism requires me to ask two questions:
1. If you eat one, does it actually become the cross of Jesus or is it merely symbolic of the cross?
2. Could we use this at Easter to represent Isaiah 25:8?

BTW, I think I would have a hard time putting a chocolate cross into my mouth. Of course, I don't like chocolate.

"War on Christians"

There was a conference held this week in Washington about a supposed "war on Christians" which you can read about here.

This, of course, raises a ton of interesting issues. What I found especially interesting, though, was the article's discussion of persecution. Regardless of one's view on abortion, it seems to be quite a stretch to conclude that X is being persecuted because of Y's right to have an abortion (which is what DeLay seems to be saying, logician that he is). Christians who read their Bible, though, can find real examples of persecution all over the place (try Stephen or Paul, not to mention, Jesus). It is almost as if they feel the need to be persecuted, because the Bible warned that they would, and then go looking for something to call persecution.

How someone could conclude that this persecution has escalated into a full-blown war is simply beyond me, so I won't even go there.

Consitutional Law...

I recently read the following quote from Justice Jackson's concurring opinion in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer. He is referring to constitutional interpretation (specifically regarding Presidential power, but I feel it applies more generally):

"Just what our forefathers did envision, or would have envisioned had they foreseen modern conditions, must be divined from materials almost as enigmatic as the dreams Joseph was called upon to interpret for Pharaoh. A century and a half of partisan debate and scholarly speculation yields no net result but only supplies more or less apt quotations from respected sources on each side of any question. They largely cancel each other."

"A century and a half" has now turned into two centuries, with very little change (in my opinion).

ireland pictures...

You can view pictures from our recent trip to Ireland here. The password is: ireland06.